Mavs' Luka Dončić Responds to Chandler Parsons, Denies Kristaps Porziņģis Feud Rumors

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić on Tuesday denied former Maverick Chandler Parsons' claim that Dončić did not enjoy playing with Kristaps Porziņģis in Dallas.

"I've talked to Chandler Parsons maybe twice in my life, so I don't know how he would know that," Dončić said Tuesday, two days before facing Porziņģis' Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. "But me and KP have a good relationship. I don't know why people say otherwise."

Parsons said Monday on FanDuel's Run It Back that Dončić "did not like playing" with Porziņģis, and that "there is an actual beef" between them.

Porziņģis also addressed his relationship with his former teammate when asked Tuesday.

"It didn't work out," Porziņģis said about his relationship with Dončić in Dallas, per Brian Robb of MassLive. "I'm not even thinking about that right now. I'm thinking about the job ahead. We can think about that later."

Porziņģis has been out since April 29 with a calf injury but is expected to return to face Dončić and the Mavericks in Thursday's Game 1, per The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Porziņģis joined the Mavericks midway through the 2019 season in the hopes of fitting in as a secondary star behind Dončić on the way to a potential title run.

But Porziņģis and Dončić struggled to develop the chemistry Dallas was hoping for, leading to the Mavericks' decision to trade him to the Washington Wizards in 2022.

Parsons played for the Mavericks between 2014 and 2016, and was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies two seasons prior to Dallas' selection of Dončić in the 2018 draft.

Despite the gap between his Mavericks tenure and Dončić's, Parsons nodded when asked on Run It Back if he could speak to the situation between Dončić and Porziņģis.

"Don't get it twisted, they do not like Porziņģis in Dallas," Parsons said. "It's going to be, every time he touches the ball, he's getting booed. I think that's known. It didn't work out."

If Porziņģis and Dončić's answers to Parsons' comments are any indication, the two have more pressing issues to think about than what went wrong back in 2019.

Porziņģis faces the challenge of returning to play after spending almost six weeks on the sideline, during which the Celtics have put together a 9-1 record without him. The team's regular-season blocks leader is ramping up his practice activity as he prepares for his return.

Dončić, who is on a 28.8 point-per-game scoring pace, will need to keep playing at a high level in order to lead the Mavericks to a title. His offensive dominance alongside Kyrie Irving is the key to Dallas' hopes of earning the second championship in franchise history.